A Single Flame in a Dying World
by FelixEcho
Summary: While at the height of the fourth Great War clashing with the god like sage power of Madara, Naruto barely comes out victorious. However, the combined power of that final confrontation tears apart the very fabric of space and time, sending Naruto into a strange, dying world. Exhausted with limited abilities Naruto must learn how to survive in this dangerous place and return home.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So it's been a while since I've updated anything and that's mostly because I haven't enjoyed writing or anything really, for a long time. But here I am trying to start a new story, a cross over no less. I've been watching walking dead over and over and now I just have this urge to write about just because I can't get enough from the show and reruns. So what compels me to do a cross over between walking dead and Naruto? Simple, they're my favorite shows and I think it would be awesome. But enough about me let me shed some light about the premise of this cross over universe. While at the height of the fourth Great War, clashing with the near god like sage power of Madara, Naruto barely comes out victorious. However, the combined power of that final confrontation tears apart the very fabric of space and time, sending Naruto into a strange, dying world. Exhausted with minimal use of his abilities, Naruto must learn how to survive in this dangerous place, all the while trying to figure out how to get home. So that's the summary, and for the sake of argument that won't really be explained in the story itself, Naruto can't read English but he understands it and can speak it and Japanese. So, time and place; Naruto arrives in the walking dead universe around the time Rick and the group made it to the farm. He finds Sophia and keeps her safe and does what he can to make her a little stronger while they travel together. They don't cross paths with the group at the highway and they don't find the farm so they're on their own for quite some time. But things in life tend to go full circle and for the first time, everyone is reunited… at the prison.

* * *

It's been months since Naruto arrived in this world, though it feels as if it were years with no real way to know what day of the year it is. He's keeping count of the days gone by as best he can, but knowing it's the least of his worries, for the time being he focuses on keeping his young traveling buddy safe. Finally getting a feel for his new surroundings, he's given serious thought to leaving the girl in a position where she can be safe without him. She saved his life with the intel she gave him when they first met and with the little strength he had, managed to survive his first night in this world. Tired as he is, he will not abandon a small girl in such a harsh world. Every day he gains just a small amount of his strength, and he now feels it is time to make a move for the win. While this world is not his home, while he misses his friends and longs to know what has become of them, being hero comes with his personality and anyone that needs it; he'll be there for the rescue. He can tell that most people would have lost hope by now, resulting with most survivors being dangerous as they are desperate to survive. That's why he simply can't leave Sophia with just any group. The worst of the worst, he knows that's most of what's left. So what is he to do? What he does best of course. This world may not be his home, but for the sake of humanity, he can be a beacon of hope, and if he can't be that beacon, he'll make one.

They have been walking since the sun came up, which was about five hours ago. They only stopped to relieve themselves, if Sophia gets tired Naruto carries her, which he hasn't done for her for months. "Are we in a hurry Naruto?" Sophia asks, knowing that while he may slow down a bit for her, he won't coddle her anymore.

"Not really, but I am looking for good place to hold up for a few days. We've had a few too many close calls sleeping in the woods. We can't get our strength back like this if we can't get a decent nights rest. I don't mind carrying you, but try to keep an eye out, I'm gonna start moving a lot faster now." Sophia has only seen Naruto perform incredible feats of strength when it was absolutely necessary, so she knows that the he's moving with urgency, and that she has to hold on tight. Clearing about ten feet with every step, they move quickly through the forest. At this pace there really isn't any need to look out for walkers, if they cross paths with them; they're gone before they even realize what happened. They came across a rail road a few days ago and have been following it ever since. Getting to know Naruto over the past few months, Sophia figures that he must feel close to whatever it is he is looking for, and for the first time in a while, Sophia feels a glimmer of hope she hadn't felt since she met her new friend.

"Are we giving up on looking for my mom and the rest of my friends?" Sophia was told some time ago that it would be unlikely that they would find her group, but even still Naruto assured her that she shouldn't give up hope.

"What did I tell you before? I never give up! That's my nindo dattebayo! I'll explain later, but I got an idea, big plans really." Sophia giggles feeling the level of excitement from Naruto, which is the only time he slips those kinds of phrases out.

"What does that even mean Naruto?" obviously the people of this world would know nothing of his world or his people, his way of life. So even from Sophia, he keeps his ninjutsu a secret. Though there have been a few times he when he is forced to use them. Normally Sophia would try to get Naruto to elaborate more on what his plans were, but for now she is simply enjoying the rare ride while she can.

"Haha don't worry about it, just keep your eyes open, don't get distracted." Naruto hasn't been anywhere near full power, and he has found that doing his trademark shadow clone technique in excess would prove fatal, given that it involves dividing his chakra evenly, so even if he only made a single clone, he would lose half his chakra. He doesn't regain his energy over night like he used to, and his chakra level had gotten so low that he was able to control it enough to make an ordinary bunshin, which has proven useful on occasion, but still alarming how he must exercise caution doing something that was almost second nature to him. His physical stamina wasn't up to par, but with a few bites to eat, he could regain his strength a little better than his he could his chakra. With his survival skills, it was more than enough to handle a few walkers, especially considering he still had plenty of kunai, which he had taught Sophia to handle and even through them accurately. Naruto came across a few spare guns, which he had seen different versions of in his own world but knew little about them. He's practiced with them enough to be a rather quick draw and accurately place a bullet between the eyes of moving walkers, even at fifty yards away. But the thing he hated about them was simply how loud they were. While he wasn't the stealthiest ninja by any means, he knew the importance of being silent. It wasn't an issue when dealing with these walkers with his level of skill, but using a gun could land them in more trouble than if he were to go in hand to hand. Using a gun was always a last resort, which was why he never carried one, he taught Sophia how to use them as well and specified that it should only be used if they were ever separated somehow, so that he would be able to find more easily and have a reasonable chance to survive until he arrived to save her. Ammunition was always hard to come by especially since they always kept their distance from other groups, so Naruto made sure that he would keep Sophia disciplined with her kunai.

After about thirty minutes of travelling at this pace Naruto nearly misses the very thing he didn't even realize he was searching for. It barely passes through his peripheral vision, and it takes a split second before it registers in his mind. He comes to a halt by sliding his feet against the boards of the railroad, tearing them apart. "What's wrong Naruto?" Sophia doesn't get an answer; Naruto just walks retracing his steps. When he comes to a stop, Sophia gets off and gazes upon what had caught Naruto's attention. Across a small ravine and a stones through away, there are fences. Behind those fences is a lush green field. Past that field is the sanctum of hope that Naruto has been looking for. A million and one different ideas are currently running through his head. Different things he could do with this place. It's beat to hell, that much is seen with the naked eye. But he knows this place is diamond in the rough. But most importantly, it is secure. There was just a small matter of pest control, which was nothing more than a trivial inconvenience in his mind given the trade off for a little bit of exerted energy.

"I think this is it. It's practically perfect really!" Naruto can't help the grin that spreads across his face, but this does little to convince Sophia of anything other than the possibility of Naruto finally losing his mind.

"Perfect for what exactly? This place is overrun with walkers! You can't seriously be thinking of trying to set up a camp there. How are we going to get rid of them?" the greatest ability Sophia has learned that was taught by Naruto was the ability to be silent. While she still needed practice moving without making sound, she no longer screamed when she saw a walker, or anything for that matter, even when she was caught by surprise. She could react just fast enough to decide whether she would be able to take out the walker herself with the kunai Naruto gave her or runaway and escape until Naruto finds her. But by no means is she confident that she could be at all useful going in hand to hand, and she only had a single clip left for her five seven.

"You leave that to me Sophia. We'll go in after we eat up a bit. I got a plan in mind; you won't have to worry about a thing. You can trust me, I'd never put you in any kind of danger intentionally." Sophia knows it's true, but she hasn't gotten rid of her fear of walkers completely, Naruto told her not to. But she trusts Naruto more than she is afraid of the walkers nowadays, so she just nods her head. They take out some of the food they had gathered over the past few days, they don't cook any of the meat knowing it would just attract walkers, or other uninvited guests, so they only eat the nuts and berries they have. They always feel more confident after eating but Sophia just can't shake the unsettling in her stomach, so she looks over to Naruto who is fixated on the prison, their new home. Once they have finished their snack, they get ready to move. Naruto takes a count of the shuriken and kunai he has in his holster and pouch. He's lost a few of them along the way but he has more than enough to go in for the mission. Keeping in mind that closing the inner gate will be his main objective, he picks up Sophia and jumps to close the distance to the most exterior gate. Sophia struggles not to giggle, Naruto had only done this a couple times before, and told her he wouldn't do it again if she asked how he does it, or if she ever mentioned his strength to anyone they met. Naruto jumps up again and lands in between the two fences which Naruto then takes the time to make sure were secure; the walkers would not be able to compromise these two fences, no matter how much they growled at them. "Alright, you're going to stay here, don't pay any mind to the walkers outside the fence, they can't get to you I promise. If you see anyone, any real people, give me a shout out and I'll come running. Do you trust me?" Naruto gives her his trade mark grin but kneels down so he's eye to eye with her. That's all the convincing she needs.

"Yes, I trust you Naruto. You'll win." Naruto stands back up, never breaking eye contact, and takes out the executioners blade, the very one that Zabuza had carried as one of the seven swordsman of the mist, and responds.

"Damn right dattebayo."

* * *

Rick and the group have been traveling somewhere between seven to nine months. They have been going door to door raiding houses that have already been raided by other groups that have already passed through the town, leaving next to nothing but dog food. Daryl finds an owl in one of the rooms and shares it with the rest of the group, hardly enough for ten hungry people. Carl was ready to open up a can of dog food to eat, but Rick snatches it out of his hand and throws it away. He will not have his own son reduced to that. T-Dog spots walkers out the window, signals the rest of the group, and they all file out of the house back to the cars. Maggie spots a couple of axes on her way out, and takes the time to grab them before getting in the car with Glenn. The group drives off down the road, and Rick starts thinking of their next move.

They come to a stop on the road once they see the area is clear. Rick and the others, with the exception of Carl and Lorie, get out of the cars and gather around to take a look at a map of the area. "It's like we spent the entire winter going in a circle." Hershel states.

Rick nods, "Yea I know, but we just have to find a place where we can hold up for a few weeks." Hershel agrees knowing Lorie cannot take much more of this traveling; she will be ready to give birth soon. The group continues to discuss various options, but finally decide that they won't figure it out just yet and feel it best to take care of a few necessities.

"I'll gather some water, we can boil it later, and I'll be back soon." T-Dog says as he leaves to do just that. Daryl decides to go hunting given that the owl they had earlier was far from being enough to eat. Rick joins him for support, leaving the rest of the group to look out for Lorie and Carl.

As they walk through the woods Rick stresses the fact that Lorie will be giving birth soon and that the group must find a place that is secured to the point where they can breathe easy for a while, without fear of attack from walkers or being exposed to the elements. Over the past few months, Daryl has been Rick's right hand man, ever since he had to kill his best friend Shane. The two have gotten along far better than either expected to, finding a good deal a mutual respect; they trusted each other's abilities and instincts. "We've been looking for awhile now, every time we scout we keep our eyes open for just that, that kinda place probably doesn't even exist." Daryl is typically more realistic than anything, but he has his doubts simply based on past attempts to do exactly what Rick is talking about.

"Even if it doesn't, we'll have to figure out how to make one ourselves, one way or another. It doesn't need to be perfect, just good enough so that we can fortify. We may need to get a little creative about our approach." Just as rick utters those words he hears a young girl yelling and begins running to discover the source. With Daryl close behind they come to the clearing and are amazed by what they see, a fortress surrounded by fences and gates. Thick walls and heavy doors and wide open spaces. But they then focus their vision on a little girl, positioned in between two of the fences safely away from the walkers. "What is she trying to do?"

"There's someone else there in the field, taking out all the walkers, and doing a damn good job at it too. She must be doing what she can to grab their attention, but it doesn't seem to be working much at all."

"Come on, this is the chance we've been looking for! Let's get to the others and move on to the prison!" the two make their way to their group , explain the situation and they all move together towards their new home, and possibly a new ally.

* * *

They fall one after another, it's almost too easy. With his massive sword he takes down two and sometimes three with a single swing. Not being two concerned at the moment with actually killing them he cuts them down so that they will be nearly immobile and by no means any threat. After cutting down the last one, he calls out to Sophia, "I told you there was nothing to worry about!" he laughs as Sophia cheers for him, giving him all different kinds of superlatives as praise. "I'll get you in just a second!" He waves and turns around to finish up his task. Only a few walkers were left to actually kill, driving his sword down into their skulls one after another, he's done in no time at all. He has successfully cleared the area and more importantly managed to close the inner gate, effectively sealing off the area from the walkers that are deeper inside the prison grounds. Before going back to Sophia he takes a quick walk around the perimeter to check for any areas that may be compromised. Seeing that the fences were all structurally sound, he heads back for Sophia. He opens the gate near one of the guard towers by breaking off the chain and pad-lock.

"I can't believe you did it! This place is huge we should be safe for a long time now!"

"What do you mean you can't believe it? You just saw me do it!" Naruto laughs as Sophia punches him in the arm lightly.

"You know what I mean Naruto." Sophia starts jumping up and down, doing cartwheels, tumbles and frolics about the field, completely enjoying her new found freedom. Naruto laughs and indulges in the revelry as well, doing a few back flips of his own.

"Let's start setting up a camp, and then I'll see what I can do for food."

"Sure thing-wait, Naruto it looks like a group is coming up on the prison fast." Naruto turns around and verifies Sophia's discovery.

"Alright, that guard tower on the left is clear, go hide in there until I give the okay." Sophia takes just a second to look at Naruto, who has an uncompromising look. She doesn't question his judgment, but up until now Naruto had never killed a live person, at least not that she knew of. She would have voiced her concern but she knew better than to talk about one of Naruto's orders right there on the spot. She does just as he says and runs towards the guard tower.

Closing in on the prison, the group couldn't believe what they saw. "How many walkers did you say there were Rick?" questions T-Dog.

"Fifty at least, and it hasn't been more than fifteen minutes since Daryl and I spotted this place."

"How can one person take on that many walkers by themselves?" Carol asks, concerned that this person could be an even bigger threat than any horde of walkers.

"We saw some else was with them but it was just a little girl, maybe there were others with him that we didn't see, sniping from the tree line. They could be using silencers, which would explain why we didn't notice them before." Daryl explains.

"If that were true wouldn't the walkers around the prison be down too?" Beth weighs in.

"Could be trying to conserve ammo, the ones outside aren't a threat once you're inside." Glenn explains, but this only prompts a question another question which everyone soon realizes, but Hershel voices out first.

"How did he get in then?" as they approach the front gate, the man that Rick and Daryl spotted greets them. Subconsciously they are ready to draw their weapons when need be, but they do not raise them. Only the man on the other side of the gate notices that they held their breath the moment he made eye contact with them, so he takes it upon himself to speak up first.

"How can I help you guys?" The blond stranger asks, with his arms folded and his impressive sword on his back. His look is not hard but it does not show any signs of naivety, or any room for stupidity.

Rick and Daryl are slightly taken aback, only due to the fact that the blonde man is far younger than they thought now that they have a better look at him. "My friend and I saw that you were trying to clear that field, so we regrouped with the rest of our friends so we come and lend you a hand, but it seems you didn't need it in the end." A pregnant silence follows. It is as if Naruto does not feel to the need to a statement of the obvious. "Did you do all this yourself?" Naruto looks over his left shoulder, then his right, and when looking back he raises an eyebrow and says,

"You see anyone else out here?" Rick and his group don't take his sarcasm as sign of things going well, but Daryl presses on.

"Do you have others in your group? Do you have them waiting for you somewhere?" Naruto doesn't glare but still gives a hard look at Daryl.

"No, there is no one else; I cleared this place out on my own as you can see."

"We saw a little girl waiting in the fences, is she part of your group?" Rick questions, which puts Naruto on guard.

"Yes… and no. I found her, and I've been taking care of her, making sure she survives. Can't say that we're much of a group. I cleared this place with that purpose in mind though, I take it you see this place in a similar light?" A small wave of relief overcomes Rick and his group thinking that they may see eye to eye with this stranger after all. That moment is short lived as walkers begin moving in on the group. Daryl positions himself on Ricks right while Glenn and Maggie take the left side, ready to fight.

"Please, let us in, we've been traveling on the road for a long time. My wife can't take much more of this and I need to get her and our son to a better place." Rick pleads desperately while Naruto has an almost passive look in his eye. However, Naruto takes notice of Lorie for the first time standing next to a kid with an oversized sheriff's hat, and notices her stomach.

"I take it that would be your wife standing next to the kid in the hat?"

"Yes, that's my wife Lorie; she's due any day now. Please we can't keep running, we need a place to stay." Naruto had no reason to say no, he knew these were good people from the start. Given that they know nothing about him they could have easily thought that they could over power him, even through the fence and force their way in. But seeing Lorie made up his mind entirely and he wasted no time opening the gate for the group. As they file in Naruto counts how many there are, ten in total. "Thank you… my name is Rick Grimes; this is my wife Lorie, and our son Carl, nice to meet you." Rick extends his hand and Naruto takes a look at before shaking it. Lorie and Carl do the same.

"I'm Daryl."

"Carol."

"I'm T-dog."

"Glenn."

"Maggie, nice to meet you."

"I'm Beth."

"And I'm Hershel, these two are my daughters." After the new group finishes introducing themselves they look to their new host expectantly. Naruto nearly forgets to introduce himself.

"Oh that's right, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. It's nice to meet all of you. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not really all that used to being around others. I haven't been for a while now." The group shares a light chuckle but Daryl is the first to point out the obvious.

"Looks like Glenn has a new Asian buddy."

"Funny Daryl." Glenn lightly punches him in the arm.

"Well we should get to setting up camp; we can swap war stories then. But just so you know, I plan on moving inwards tomorrow."

"Not by yourself I hope." Rick planned on doing the same thing, and is surprised that the young man had not only thought to do the same but planned on doing it on his own.

"I'm not gonna ask a bunch of strangers to risk their lives following one of my crazy ideas. So yea I do plan on going in alone."

"That's suicide though; even with a group it would be difficult." Hershel chimes in but Naruto waves him off.

"Suicide runs are a sort of specialty of mine, which is why I cleared the field in the first place. I figured that this place would be a good place to start up a small community eventually, though I had no idea that I'd be having company so soon. We can't stay outside forever, so the sooner the better right?"

"It would seem like we're on the same wave length so far. As thanks for letting us in, we'll help you clear out the court yard and a cell block, where we can all stay." Naruto gives Rick a thoughtful glance.

"You know what, I've been thinking. If anything happens to me I'll need someone to look after my friend. I don't know you guys very well, but given that some of you are parents I don't think it's a bad idea. You guys are a strong unit; you'd have no problems making sure she's safe. I take it you'd have no objection to that right?"

"We'd be more than happy to look after her, though it would be nice if we could meet her at some point." Lorie says chuckling a bit, getting the rest of the group going as Naruto realizes he had forgotten that he told Sophia to hide. He turns around to the guard tower and shouts

"That's right, let me introduce you. Sophia you can come out now, its safe!" the group stops laughing in disbelief, not sure if they heard Naruto correctly.

"Sophia?" carol says barely above a whisper.

"Yea, that's right." Naruto says, but it falls on deaf ears as the door to the guard tower opens, and his traveling buddy steps out into the sun. Sophia puts a hand up to block the sun's rays and can barely make out the faces of the group. It takes a moment to register, but there is no mistaking it. Once her eyes adjust she can see Rick and Lorie standing next to her friend Carl. She sees T-Dog, Glenn Daryl, and a few other faces that she isn't familiar. But they all disappear into the background when she sees Carol running towards her.

"Sophia!" Carol cries out with tears streaming down her face, running as fast as she can towards her daughter, the very one whom she never thought she would see again. The very one who she had thought had perished by the hands and teeth of a merciless walker. The very one who she had given up on. In this very moment of shock and disbelief, she would not recognize her own daughter were it not for the memory of her maternal instincts.

"MOM!?"


	2. Chapter 2

A small showing but that's to be expected really, but I think most people that read this might like it. But anyway, on to the next chapter. I've got a lot of work to do with studying and, well, my job taking up 30 hours a week more or less so opportunities to write will be… virtually nonexistent so… yeah.

* * *

They are not even sure if what they see before them is real. A glimmer of hope that they had thought had long since died out, suddenly burning white hot before them consuming them. They didn't move a muscle as Carol embraced her long lost daughter in her arms, not wanting to disturb the moment of beauty. Hot tears stream down the faces of all the women, and a few escaping from the eyes of Daryl. Naruto can hardly believe it himself, this was entirely unanticipated, and ironic too. A couple hours ago he decided to stop looking for a suitable group to leave Sophia with and then who else walks through the gates but her very own mother. Life can be as funny as it is cruel at times… Naruto knows that all too well.

Night falls and the camp has is set up, the group is gathered around a fire but can barely keep their eyes of the mother and daughter fast asleep in each other's arms. They all spent most of the time questioning her on how she managed to survive while exclaiming how glad they were to see her alive. Sophia said that she was saved by her friend, which drew their attention to the blonde stranger. He said that he would be glad to explain later, and that they should all enjoy the moment as a family. Naruto excused himself to go hunting, saying that today's activities had made him hungry. Hershel protested knowing that the group would be very much interested to learn as much as possible about him, but Naruto waved them off and simply said he would be back soon as he turned around and left.

Upon his nearly silent return with several rabbits in hand, twelve in all, Naruto greets the group. "Hey, who's everyone doing?" he says softly, minding the noise level for the sleeping pair. They all turn around in surprise, not hearing Naruto's return until announced.

"Look who it is, the mystery man of the hour." Rick greets and the rest cheer softly with a resounding 'hey there'.

"And I come bearing gifts too, not much but there's one for everybody." Naruto sits down next to Hershel, takes a rabbit for himself and then passes the batch to Hershel. Hershel takes one for himself and then passes it around to next person, distributing the food around the camp. Naruto knows he has a lot of explaining to do, but telling the whole story is obviously out of the question.

"Where did you find Sophia?" Carol asks as she stirs awake, careful not to disturb her sleeping daughter. The group turns to Naruto and he rubs the back of his head a bit sheepishly. It has been sometime since he had been the center of attention and he isn't used to it just yet.

"A good a place as any to start I suppose, right? Believe it or not when Sophia and I first met, she saved me. You see I woke up one day disoriented, weak, confused, and apparently suffering from amnesia. I had no idea where I was or how I got there, and I was hurt really badly, every part of my body was in pain I had never experienced before. I had broken ribs and a concussion. I walked for a mile or so into the woods. The first time I came across one of those things I actually asked it for help, not thinking there was anything wrong with them until I got up close.

"The bastard would have gotten a hold of me if Sophia hadn't turned up just then. She shouted saying to run away. I didn't understand but I didn't argue. I weakly pushed the thing away to buy time to escape, and Sophia led me to a house about five hundred yards into the thicker part of the woods." Daryl knew exactly which house Naruto was speaking of, and couldn't believe just how close he was to actually finding Sophia.

"I know that place; I found it while we were still searching for her. She left behind a blanket and pillow in the pantry. I didn't see any other foot prints when I was there; she was probably there for at least a few days, and must have been out looking for us when I got there." Naruto nods thoughtfully while everyone just takes in all the information they can, hanging onto every single word being spoken.

"That must have been what happened. She would have kept going out looking for you guys if she hadn't found me. Almost as soon as we got there I passed out before I could ask her about anything. When I came to, Sophia told me how she got separated from you guys, and everything that happened up until then." Upon hearing those words, all the emotions that the group had felt during those times came rushing back to them. Carol and Lorie were shedding soft tears, Carl couldn't help himself either. Rick recalls the doubts he had regarding his ability to lead the group and keep his family safe. The miracle they all needed, it finally came true.

"So where did you guys go after wards?" Rick asks.

"We didn't leave that cabin for a week. I needed time to heal and more importantly, we were running out food and water. During that time Sophia explained to me exactly what these things are. I couldn't believe it; I had never run into them before." This struck the group by surprise for a whole different reason.

"What do you mean? By the time Sophia had gotten separated, the outbreak had already occurred several months prior. Where did you come from exactly?" Naruto isn't fazed at all by the question.

"That's a little difficult to explain, on account of my amnesia and everything. I remember everything I've ever done with my friends but I just can't remember how I wound up here. All I've been able to gather is that I'm a long way from home, and that none of my friends are anywhere near here." Hershel is the next to speak up.

"What about your family? Are your parents around?" Naruto fights a small smile from making its way to his face, but the corner of his mouth curls upward just slightly.

"No, I've been an orphan since birth; I've never met my parents." There isn't the slightly bit of melancholy in his voice, he almost sounds happy just to talk about his parents adding to the groups surprise. "I've been on my own since I was a kid. I never liked the orphanages so I wandered the streets and the woods a lot, so I know how to survive on my own rather well, which has come in handy ever since I got here." Daryl recognizes with Naruto and subconsciously already considers him a friend. The parents of the group feel a tug at their heart strings knowing how lonely he must have felt at the time. They all feel they understand how strong Naruto must be, if only just a little.

"Having that big ass sword doesn't hurt either." The group laughs at T-Dog's crude humor, including Naruto.

"Where the hell did you get that thing anyway?" Daryl asks.

"A friend of mine gave it to me some time before I wound up here. Though when I first got here I was too weak to use it properly. It's not a problem now and it makes cutting down those walkers way too easy."

"How much does it weigh?" Glenn speaks up.

"About a hundred kilos or so, I'm not sure." One shock after another, but if this is true it is easy to understand that Naruto is easily the strongest member of this group, probably the strongest person they've ever met.

"That's insane, how can you carry that thing all over the place and not get tired?" Maggie asks.

"I have it on my back most of the time, but really you get used to it. I don't even notice it there anymore." Naruto answers non-chalantly. The group is nearly at a loss for words from Naruto's seemingly carefree attitude.

"What was it like traveling with Sophia?" Carl asks, speaking up for the first time since.

"In the beginning it was tough, given my injuries. I heal notoriously quickly but I noticed it took longer than usual to heal, even with broken ribs. We moved house to house for lack of any other option at the time. I relied heavily on my knives and throwing stars. When I finally healed enough I started teaching Sophia how to use the knives, mostly how to throw them. The most important thing I taught her was how to be silent, even when she's scared, though she still needs a little work in both areas. Whenever things got really bad, we moved from tree top to tree top, and there were no real problems after I fully healed." This isn't entirely true; Naruto's injuries no longer impede him, but he knows he isn't at full health. If that were true, he could go home at anytime, but he knows he isn't capable of that just yet.

"Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. I can't explain just how much it means to me. I thought we lost her forever. This was the miracle we've needed for a long time. Thank you Naruto." The group goes around showing their gratitude, finding Sophia means more to them than they originally thought. All the sacrifices they've had to make along the way suddenly feel justified.

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly Naruto answers, "What was I gonna do ya'know? Couldn't leave a little girl on her own in this world. This whole time I've been looking for someone to leave her with and who better than her own mother right?" Naruto smiles big and the group can't help but be affected by his positive energy. A strange feeling after all the time spent in this world, but a welcomed one none-the-less. "Perfect timing too, I need to start figuring out how to get home." The group shares a concerned look, but Rick is the first to say what is on everyone's mind.

"I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially since you've done nothing but give us good news, but more than likely you don't have anything to go home to. As far as we can tell, nowhere is safe in the world, and half the population has probably been wiped out." Naruto takes this with a grain of salt. While his world was on the brink of destruction for a whole different reason, he knows that there is a very strong possibility that many of his friends did not survive the war. Aside from that, he only now understands just how dire the situation here really is.

"I had no idea things were so bad honestly, but what you're saying would explain the level of violence nowadays. But as far as my friends are concerned, I'm sure they'll be fine. They're really strong, there's no way they'd get beaten by something like this. It'll take more than an army of slow moving brain dead cannibals to take them down, I'm sure of that much!" Naruto can't help but laugh though he makes sure to cut it off as to not be disrespectful to the fears of his new company.

In the back of his mind Naruto has this feeling of assurance that what he says is true. When he became fully cognitive he did not have any sense of dread overcome him at any point in time. His mind told him he was far from home, but his gut told him that he didn't leave anything unfinished. He can't explain it, but Naruto never felt anything akin to failure, and was sure he had succeeded in stopping Madara and saved his world from eternal slavery. How he got here doesn't really matter to him, all he needs to do is figure out is how to get home to his family. There isn't a force in the universe that can stop him from doing that.

"How can you be sure about that?" Daryl asks, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.

"Honestly I can't explain that. There is so much that I'm not sure of, like how I got here or how I'm going to get back. But the one thing that I'll always be sure of is that my friends are waiting for me. That's why I have to make it back. I can't leave them waiting forever can I?" Naruto can't help but smile, and despite how dark the world is around them, in spite of all the things they lost up until now, they start to feel a spark of hope. It isn't much, but it's more than they've felt in a long time. Subconsciously, Rick feels something he hadn't thought of since he woke up; we can beat this. We're going to win.

"I think most of us here would be inclined to disagree with you to be realistic. But after finding Sophia and this place, I think we might just wind up believing you some day."

"You'd better believe it! But in the mean time, I'm still stuck here." Naruto looks up at the stars. He wonders if there will be a day when he won't have to fight anymore. Hasn't he fought enough already? "I'm a little tired now. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I think it'll be… the turning point of the war. Tomorrow… we'll make a play for the win. Rest up guys, you'll need it." With that Naruto lays down on the ground and falls asleep almost instantly, leaving the group to think about the gravity of what Naruto had just said. No one ever thought of doing anything more than surviving in this world. But could what Naruto said be realistic. Could they really win not just the battle but the war? Could their small miracle be the strength that they need to believe it? Could such a small flame be seen by others… in a world full of nothing but darkness? Only time can tell really, but none of them knew it. They felt something, but they did not know.

On that night… the tide had finally shifted. It was only just a little, but it was enough. The force of the human spirit had been reignited. There will be no stopping it.

* * *

The next chapter will have plenty of action as I'm sure you can guess.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Getting good responses so far. Kinda want to average 6-8 reviews per chapter but given how infrequent this category is even looked at I'll settle for something like 500 hits a chapter, which is where I'm at right now anyway. So if any one has any questions on anything that Naruto can do or has in his possession just let me know. The next chapter will be another filler type episode but it is necessary and it will put things into motion too. But for now, as promised, the action.

* * *

The sun rises on the camp; there to greet it is Naruto, who volunteered to take the last watch of the night. He always got up early these days, never knowing if he would live to see another sunrise made him feel obligated to do so. For whatever reason that he couldn't explain he always felt stronger when he felt against his bare skin, as though he could absorb the light as raw energy. An impossibility he knew of course but his chakra network felt more alive nonetheless.

Naruto takes the time to devise a strategy for today's mission. He can't take the executioner's blade into the prison, given its massive size being a liability in such close quarters. Relying on his kunai and shuriken would be his only option in terms of weaponry which would be more than enough if he could infuse his wind element. Unfortunately he had few tools that had that capability, and hardly enough elemental chakra to use in an operation of indefinite duration and scale.

The first of the group to stir awake is Carl, being the youngest and having the most energy. Naruto knows the rest of the group will soon follow, so he gets puts on his undershirt and chainmail. Gathering his gear together he knows taking his cloak will be vital. He discovered that it was bite proof so it will be worth it despite the intense Georgia heat. "You said your name was Naruto right?" Carl asks, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.

"He that's right, yours is Carl if I'm not mistaken." Naruto flashes him his signature grin, and Carl feels his energy rising almost instantly, despite it being so early in the morning.

"Yea, I didn't really get a chance to say it last night, and I know you've heard it from everyone else already, but I just wanted to say thanks, for saving Sophia. Our families met on the road while trying to get out of the city, and we became friends soon after. Everyone gave up looking for, some by choice and others not so much. Having her back… it's like having a reason to fight again you know?" Naruto listens with genuine interest even though it was true that he heard everything Carl had to say from everyone else in the group. But Naruto knows just how important it is to take the time to listen to kids when they voice an opinion or concern.

"I'm glad she made her way back to her friends and family, I know what it's like to lose your friends. It sucks. It sucks real bad. I'm glad you don't have to deal with that again at the moment. Protecting the kids your age is the biggest priority that much I know hasn't changed."

"I can take care of myself, I'm a pretty good shot you know. Besides, you don't look much older than me." Carl says, puffing his chest out as he does. Naruto laughs half heartedly and punches Carl in the arm lightly.

"I bet you are, you'll be stronger than your dad in no time, but you still have a ways to go. And I'm 18 by the way, which is an adult where I come from so I can get away with lecturing you." The rest of the group seems to stir at once at the noise volume of the conversation. "Looks like they'll be awake in just a sec. help me get breakfast ready, we're gonna need our strength, it's gonna be a long day, that much I know." Carl nods his head in understanding. They both start off in their respective chores as the group is finally up and about.

Over breakfast the group tries to get to know Naruto a little better, and Naruto does the same likewise. The only vital information that Naruto reveals is that he isn't even from this country, which most of the group assumed anyway. He also explains how he got his name, which got a laugh from everyone, and a crude nickname from Daryl, 'fish paste'. Naruto saw it coming but didn't mind at all. Being the prank king he'd get back at Daryl eventually. The rest of the group shares where they came from, what they did before the world went to hell and what they were going to do. They shared embarrassing stories and other moments of their lives that they won't soon forget. Keeping the mood light for the time being while they finish breakfast, Naruto decides to ask more about their abilities as a group.

"I was wondering, do any of you guys have any roles that you specialize in? I've got all around survival skills, but I'm a pretty good righter hand to hand, which will be needed for today's mission. I won't be able to take my sword inside, it'll just be in the way and it isn't exactly meant for group formation." Rick nods in understanding, appreciating the fact that Naruto is actually giving some forethought to the immanent task at hand.

"I've been the leader of the group for some time now, so I try to learn a little bit of everything I can. I usually take point and I'm good with a gun and going hand to hand with a knife."

"I'm pretty well rounded, I can use a gun but I prefer using my cross bow, it's a lot quieter, and I can use my knife for all sorts of things. I'm a redneck; I know how to survive in the wilderness, and a zombie apocalypse." Daryl smirks and the rest of the group laughs. Naruto assumed that much of Daryl when he first met him, so he was already confident with his abilities.

"I'm pretty good at doing supply runs and getting around town. It saved Rick more than a few times that's for sure." Glenn punches Rick and everyone laughs in agreement.

"I was a veterinarian, so I'm the medic. I've been teaching my girls along with Carol as much as I can as well." Naruto nods, thankful that there was a proper medic in the group. His knowledge of first aid could only get them so far, and was glad that responsibility wasn't something he would have to worry about.

"Aside from that the rest of us have learned to shoot pretty well, and we've gotten used to using other weapons when guns aren't an option." T-Dog finishes for the group, just as everyone has finished eating and cleaning up the camp.

"Alright then, it's time to get to work." Everyone agrees silently and they begin heading up to the gate of the courtyard. Sophia walks in step behind Naruto out of habit, but Naruto nudges her in the direction of her mother. It feels a bit awkward, but there will be time to break such habits over time. The group pauses as they arrive at the site to iron out the details of the operation.

"I got a look and saw a gate inside of the courtyard; we need to close it off to improve our chances of clearing the area. We'll move in on it in formation and Daryl and I will close the gate. Afterwards finishing off the rest of the walkers shouldn't be a problem. T-Dog, you wanna take the left flank?"

"Not a problem."

"Glenn and I will take the right flank and our six." Maggie adds, knowing that this is the typical formation they take during most operations.

"That's as good a plan as any. Stick to it and hold formation and we'll all be fine. I'll head into the courtyard right behind you, picking off any strays along the way. When Rick and Daryl move in to seal the gate I'll cover the exposed flank. Everyone else, try to make us much noise as possible, and watch any of our blind spots. Don't take any unnecessary shots; you could hit one of us by accident. Everyone know their jobs?" The group looks around at one another to confirm, and then finally back to Naruto. He nods and opens up the gate, allowing Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog to funnel inside with their formation. Naruto follows them inside, his sword on his back, and Hershel closes the gate.

Before the gate was even opened, the walkers had found them and made their way to their next meal. They growl, moan, and limp their way towards the group. A walker wearing a blue jumpsuit standard for the inhabitants of the prison makes the first attempt on Rick, and is quickly taken down by his machete. With the other half of the group making noise, some walkers gather by the gate ignoring the small platoon. These are killed through the holes of the fences by various weaponry.

The squad moves towards their first objective, taking down walker after walker. Some of the walkers were previously riot patrol men and are clad with protective gear, including helmets and face masks. They have gloves as well which means they are no immediate threat, but they still hinder progress. Naruto yells out saying to knock them down so he can take care of them himself. They do just that and arrive to their objective in no time at all.

Rick and Daryl move to close the gate, kicking back a few walkers that pose immediate threat. Naruto moves up, throwing three shuriken at three different walkers that were closing in on Rick's exposed flank. Each one takes an accurate hit to the head being killed instantly. Using oversized D-ring key links Rick and Daryl successfully seal the gate. There were nearly two dozen walkers behind that gate at the moment, which would have been a problem had they not been sealed off.

With only about a dozen walkers left, the group falls back in their original formation to ensure their safety. Naruto wastes no time in dispatching the remaining walkers, driving his kunai into their skulls with great agility, he moves on from one onto the next. Within ten minutes, the group takes the court yard. With only one walker left, Naruto decides to have a little fun; he puts his kunai away, turns his back on the walker and as it approaches, he does a back flip, grabbing his feet and at the height of the rotation, he kicks downward, bashing the skull of the walker into the ground. The rest of the group takes a moment to catch their breath, with the exception of Naruto who is only now warmed up.

"We did it! That was much easier than I thought it was gonna be!" Maggie exclaims as she embraces Glenn in celebration. He returns it and kisses her gently. Rick waves over to the rest of the group signaling that it is now safe. T-Dog goes around gathering a few riot shields as spoils of their victory. Naruto makes sure to recover his shuriken secretly, not wanting to be questioned on his weapon selection. Daryl recovers his arrows as he normally does, but finds something that catches his attention. He takes a closer look at one of the walkers, and notices something different about it.

"Hey guys take a look at this." The group gathers to see what has Daryl's attention. "This one's a civilian, how do you suppose it wound up here." A valid point and Naruto already knows the answer. When he went hunting the day before, he took a long walk around the perimeter to see if there were any parts of the prison were compromised. Sure enough, the south wall was partially destroyed, along with a hole in the surrounding fence.

"There's a good chance that there could be walkers from outside the prison that found their way inside." Rick postulates and Naruto audibly agrees and adds to it.

"I'm counting on it; I took a look around last night and saw the southern side was compromised. But we should be able to clear portions of the prison, securing a block at a time. I'm with you if you guys want to push inward." The group takes a moment to contemplate, but Rick decides for them.

"We've come this far already. This place could be a gold mine with food and medical supplies. We just need to push a little bit deeper. We're taking a block today." Naruto nods and the group waste no time arguing. They make their way inside through a side door that was also gated and secured behind them.

* * *

As they make their way inside they do their best to stay silent as they turn each and every corner, and close every gate securing each segment of the prison to eliminate the possibility of being caught from behind as much as possible. Eventually they arrive at a room that leads to a block of holding cells. Hershel is the last to enter following his youngest daughter Beth, and closes the gate behind them, securing the area. Lorie, Carl, Sophia, Carol, Beth and Hershel stay in this room while the rest move right into the next room, securing it as they enter. Surveying the area to make sure there no other exits or entrances, they advance to clear out the cells of any remaining walkers. Rick, Glenn and Maggie take the first level of the block while T-Dog, Naruto and Daryl take the second level.

T-Dog and Naruto move right on to clear each cell. Daryl takes a second to look inside a small control office. He finds one of the prison guards who had apparently committed suicide with his Five-Seven. Daryl prods the body with his knife to make sure that the body did not reanimate. Seeing that it was safe, Daryl notices a set of keys hanging on the belt loop of the uniform and takes it for himself.

There were only a few walkers left, most of which were locked inside the cells. One of the few that were not made a lunge for T-Dog, who deflected it with his riot shield. Naruto noticed this and quickly threw a kunai in the walker's skull, putting an end to an otherwise uneventful ordeal.

"First level cleared." Rick calls out.

"Second level cleared." T-Dog answers back. He along with the others walked back down to the first level. Rick allows the others into the room.

They begin to clean up the cell block, scrubbing down the walls as best they can and taking out the bodies to burn. They each take a cell for themselves, with Rick and Hershel's family taking the first level and everyone else taking a cell on the next level, with the exception of Daryl who takes the perch. Naruto makes sure to take a cell that's further away from the others. Everyone is finally settled in and meets again on the first level.

"Great job guys, you made a little too easy even. A little boring actually I'm a little disappointed. But anyhow, I want to push in further to make sure we don't have any surprises in store. We need to scavenge for supplies, primarily food and medical supplies. Most importantly we need to secure that exit in the back end to make sure we can definitively clear out the prison for good. I'll take point this time, any volunteers?" Naruto looked around and was answered quickly.

"I'll go, my riot shield provide decent cover for you."

"I'm going too, can't let a stranger risk his life for my family, no matter how nice he is."

"I'm in; it's kind of my field of expertise after all."

"If Glenn goes then I am too."

"And if Maggie's going, I'll be right behind her." Naruto turned his attention to Hershel at that. He could understand the need to go in to protect his daughter, but he cannot allow that. Strategically it would be detrimental, and can prove disastrous down the road.

"I'm sorry Hershel, but I can't let you go in with us. You're the medic; it's not your responsibility." Hershel takes light offense to that. He understands it's nothing against him, but even still he won't have anyone taking his responsibilities as a father lightly.

"It's not open for discussion son, I'm going to keep my daughter safe, that's all there is to it." Naruto inhales, looks over to Maggie and Glenn, and exhales. He has an answer.

"That's exactly right, you will keep her safe. But if you go in there, and something happens to you, then what."

"Better me than her; I would have done my job as a father."

"Daddy please, just let us handle this."

"I'll make sure I protect her with my life Hershel, you know that."

"Listen to him Hershel. Nothing is going to get passed Glenn; I can see that you trust him. But if you go in, and you go down, you won't be able to protect her anymore. You're not supposed to take the bullet for her; you're supposed to take it out, as many times as you need to." As tactical as it was meant to be, it comes off a bit morbid.

"If anything happened to her, and I wasn't there, I'd never be able to forgive myself." Hershel shows no sign of backing down, looking Naruto square in the eye. Naruto contemplates if it will be easier to just knock him out and apologize later. He can tell most of the group is divided on the matter; the parents agree with Hershel while the others take the more tactical stand.

"You're the medic, if you aren't the last person to die, then you haven't done your job." This takes the group by surprise. While they can tell that Naruto was a survivalist, he is still rather young and they didn't expect such an extreme view. Before anyone can either agree or disagree with him, Naruto adds, "I'm the captain for this operation, so no matter what, I'll be the first to die. That's my job. If I have to make you stay here, I can do that too." Naruto places a hand on Hershel's shoulder, doesn't break eye contact for a second, his voice is completely even.

Hershel is taken aback ever so slightly. He didn't expect Naruto to be so ready to put his life on the line for people he just met, and neither did the rest of the group. While it sounds like he's issuing a threat, they respect the very weight his words seem to carry. A promise made from one man to another left unspoken, but never to be broken; they will both carry out their respective duties to the tee, without fail. They bet their lives on it.

Hershel turns to Maggie and Glenn, who smile reassuringly and say, "We'll be back, we promise." Hershel nods his head knowingly.

"Then I'll be here when you do." With the matter settled, the group turns to Naruto for the plan of attack.

"Alright, we'll move in a linear formation this time going down and through the hallways. I'm taking point, Daryl and Rick you're right behind me, and Glenn and Maggie take the rear, and mark the walls so we can find our way back. T-Dog give support to both fronts as needed. Keep your lights either on the ground or on the opposite wall. When I signal 'hold', keep your lights on the back of the person in front of you, except for Glenn, watch our six. We move quickly and quietly. We ready?" Naruto takes a look around and his squad gives him a confirming nod. "Let's move then."

Carl opens the gate for the group and they exit back into the hallway. Carl closes the gate behind them and walks back over to wait with the group. "They'll be fine right?"

"Don't worry about your father sweetie; he and the others have gotten really good at this. They'll protect each other."

"And Naruto's really strong too! It'll take more than a few dozen brain-dead walkers to get past him." Sophia says with an air of humor.

"If he managed to keep you safe this whole time all by himself, then I'm willing to believe you."

"Come on kids, let's go back inside. I'll wait here for them." Hershel says helping Lorie back into the cell block. Carol follows and the children go in with their mothers. Beth decides to stay despite Hershel's insistence, saying that if group had extra 'company' coming back in, they could use the extra help. Not having the energy to more arguing, he agreed to let her wait with him there, just in case.

* * *

Staying in formation, Naruto sets the pace. He checks every single corner quietly before moving on, and Glenn makes sure to mark each corner with paint from a spray can so they can find their way back. The floors are littered with bodies that are presumed dead. The mission is to secure the prison, so there can be no assumptions. "If you didn't kill it yourself, assume it's alive." Naruto whispers quietly to Rick, who passes the message down the line. With that advice in mind, the group makes sure to personally stab each and every lying body through the skull. They will not be caught by surprise.

Arriving at a three-way intersection, Naruto signal to hold position and they follow suit. He checks to the left and it's clear. He then checks to the right… and quickly ducks back behind cover. Turning to look back to the group he signals to turn back. Glenn now taking point to head back to the cell block, he holds at the previous intersection. He peers around the corner, but right there he is greeted by a hoard of walkers that wasn't there before. Glenn quickly stabs the walker with his metal pike, but it's too late, they now have the full unwanted attention of every walker in the catacombs. "Run!" Glenn yells out and the group gives no hesitation to follow.

With moans and groans close behind them, they do not stop to try and thin the heard. They need a choke point to successfully eliminate them and minimize possibility for casualties, which they haven't found just yet. Glenn turns the next corner and runs straight into a walker. Knocking it down instead of trying to fight it, Glenn turns around after seeing another hoard down the hallway. "Turn back!" They do but before they can get far a small group of walkers comes out of one of the doors in the next hallway, effectively cutting off Maggie and Glenn from the rest of the group.

Glenn and Maggie manage to fight off the few walkers that came out of the doorway before the hoard behind them can catch up to them. Seeing that both sides are cut off by walkers, they head into the doorway the walkers that cut them off from the group came from. "Through here, go! We'll catch up with the rest later!" Maggie obeys and Glenn closes the door behind. The dark corridors provide just enough cover to confuse the walkers and it appears to them that the couple simply disappeared out of thin air, and do not notice the door they went through.

Naruto doesn't notice that the platoon is short two members, and by the time he realizes this, the hoards of walkers have already managed to throw them off their known paths and have forced them to go into unmarked territory. As Naruto turns the next corner, he sees another hoard of walkers, or maybe it was the same hoard of walkers and somehow they were going in circles. Both sides being cut off, Rick notices double doors secured with chains and a pad-lock. "This way, through here!"

T-Dog wastes no time in breaking the lock on the door and opening them. "Let's go let's go!" The remaining group members file inside in a hurry and T-Dog closes the double doors and secures them as best he can by putting his weapon through the door handles. They take a second to catch their breath and come up with a plane.

"We need to go back for Glenn and Maggie, we can't leave them behind." Rick says with certainty.

"We will but first we have to get through the problem at our door. We should be able to take them down easy enough; the door way should be a pretty good choke point. You guys ready?" Before anyone can answer Naruto, they are cut off by an unfamiliar voice.

"Holy Shit." Upon hearing the profanity, the group turns around drawing their weapons without missing a beat. To their shock, they find the source of the interruption to be an inmate, a survivor of the prison, along with three other inmates.

"Who the hell are you?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Meant to update a few days ago but I wasn't up for it. My biggest problem is that I have to write the chapters all at once or I won't feel like doing it at all. I find that writing these chapters will be a lot easier while watching the episodes. But anyway, I wonder if anyone caught on to what I hinted at in the last chapter. It wasn't anything big but it will turn out to be significant, answering a few questions that may be on your mind.

* * *

Glenn and Maggie rush back to the cell block, finding it locked. "It's us open the gate!" Their cry catches the attention of the rest of the group and they move quickly into the next room. Hershel takes out the keys and fumbles with them trying to find the right one to unlike the door.

"Where are the others? What happened?" Hershel asks, trying to remain calm as he tests each key.

"A hoard separated us from them, the bulk of which followed them deeper into the prison. We picked off the few that came after us. There shouldn't be any more heading this way but we can't be sure." Glenn explains, nearly out of breath while keeping an eye out for any walker that may prove him wrong.

"Is my dad okay? Where is he?"

"What about Naruto? Is he with them?"

"Naruto was leading the rest of the group and I'm pretty sure Rick was with them but I they weren't behind us on the way back. I don't know where they are." Maggie answers in honesty, her adrenaline nearly depleted by this point.

"Got it, get inside!" Hershel exclaims as he finally manages to open the door and helps his daughter and Glenn back into the secured prison block. Maggie hugs her sister Beth and then her father. Lori holds Carl close to her in an effort to assure him that his father would be okay, but even so she isn't sure herself and feels a bit of guilt in the pit of her stomach. Having no way of knowing exactly the status of anyone in the group, it is easy to assume the worse. Despite her best efforts the fear of uncertainty overwhelms her.

"What do we do? We have to find them; we have to know if they're alive. We can't just sit here can we?" Lori says as her eyes become puffy from unshed tears.

"Don't worry; we'll go back for them." Maggie says, trying to comfort Lori, only to be contradicted by her father.

"You're not going back in there you barely made it out the first time. We don't have enough people to send in a rescue team."

"So what, are we just going to sit here and wait? If it were in me in there you would go after me, and I'd do the same for you. Sitting here worried sick isn't going to solve anything daddy."

"I understand that Maggie, but sending in a rescue team isn't an option. We could get everyone killed. Where would that leave Lori and the kids then?" At the mention of the possibility of Lori and the children being left alone by themselves Maggie halted her insistence on going back into the prison. She looked over to those in question and noticed the desperate look on their faces. Except for Sophia.

"What do we do then?" Beth asks. The adults look at each other, hoping that someone will have an answer, but no one speaks up. They feel defeated as they are unable to come up with a plausible solution. "We don't have a choice then, we just have to wait for them here, as hard as it is, that's the only hand we have." The group sits down at the metal table in defeat. Looking over to the door that leads to source of their uncertainty, they mentally prepare themselves for the long wait. The feeling is nothing new, but it certainly isn't welcomed or appreciated. Too many times have they been a position just like this, where they are helpless to help the one's they care for.

Carol brings Sophia close to her, in attempt to comfort her. "I'm sure they'll be fine, they always make it back. Don't worry." Hearing those words, Sophia comes to a realization.

"I'm not worried." Carol pulls back slightly to get a better look at her daughter. She sees no trace of false bravery or naïve sense of confidence in Sophia's eyes. The rest of the group looks over to her, wondering how Sophia can such a thing at a time like this.

"Why do you say that sweetie?" Carol questions, but Sophia averts her gaze as she pulls away, noticing the stares of the others.

"Well, Naruto is with them, so I'll know they'll be okay. He's really strong you know, he won't let anything happen to them." Sophia explains as a matter of fact. Lori lets out a sigh not feeling comforted by the child's statement.

"We can all see just how strong Naruto is Sophia; he brought you back to us after all. But sometimes one person isn't enough to make a difference, and he wasn't able to bring his sword with him." Sophia looks to Lori and shakes her head.

"It's not about his sword or how strong Naruto is."

"What do you mean?" Beth asks, effectively voicing the curiosity of the rest of the group.

"It's just… well… sometimes… Naruto can be scarier than a hoard of walkers."

* * *

_They have been traveling together for roughly three months, Naruto's ribs have finally finished healing but he is extremely malnourished as well as Sophia. At one time he considered leaving behind the executioner's blade since he could barely lift it with his current strength and it currently serves only to slow him down at this point. But for now he keeps it on his back and only uses his kunai. Naruto hasn't been able to hunt properly or find any food in the woods to gather, so he takes his traveling partner out of the woods and into a town, hoping to scavenge any food that's been left behind in the houses. _

_The town was a partially gated community. Key term being 'partially' because the gates had been mangled and ripped right off their hinges from the mass panic that had ensued. It was a pretty nice town too, high end really with most of the houses being completely identical, but it was reduced to what resembled as war zone, minus any kind of military affects. The brick walls that surrounded most of the community had been destroyed in spots but it still went around most of the town._

_The two walked down to the very end of the street which finished as a cul-de-sac and they move into to the house in the middle of said cul-de-sac. Sophia helps Naruto stagger into the home and closes the door behind them. Naruto's vision has been blurry since waking up that morning and when walking into the house, he doesn't notice how the door was left open before they arrived. "Wait here Sophia." Naruto orders and she obeys, sitting down on the couch in the living room._

_Naruto groggily checks the first floor of the house and finds that the kitchen door that leads to the backyard is open. He closes it and begins rummaging through the cabinets and pantry of the kitchen, hoping to find any non perishables. A jar of peanut butter and a can of baked beans that was broken is all he finds. Not bothering with the beans he settles for the peanut butter, the protein and fat content being enough for the time being. Suddenly Naruto hears Sophia screaming from the living, "Naruto!" he quickly runs back to Sophia fearing the worst._

_Upon entering the living room Naruto finds a walker falling down the flight of stairs into the living room. Before it gets a chance to get back up, Naruto rushes over and steps on its head with his full weight, crushing its skull. Turning back to Sophia, Naruto checks her to see if she was injured in any way. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. Are you okay?" Sophia shakes her head no and points behind Naruto. He turns back in a panic and notices three more walkers trying to make their way downstairs. Not having the energy to deal with them, he puts the peanut butter in his cloak, grabs Sophia's hand, and turns to leave through the front door._

_Opening the front door turns out to be a mistake as a small group of walkers is there to cut off their escape. 'Shit.' Naruto thought as he closes the door immediately. He turns around to head to the back door. One of the walkers inside the house reaches out its arms in attempt to grab Naruto, but he kicks it as hard as he can and knocks it down along with the other two behind it. Naruto momentarily loses balance from his kick, but he pushes onward and out of the house and into the back yard. All he finds, however, is the neighboring yard filled with walkers making their way over the short four foot fence and into their yard, 'Fuck.'_

_Naruto pulls Sophia by the hand and moves as fast as he can to turn the corner of the house before the walkers can fully block their escape. As he comes to the front of the house the previous group of walkers finds them again and begins to chase. Naruto looks down the street where he and Sophia originally came from and sees that a much larger hoard taking up the majority of the street is approaching from no more than a couple of houses away. 'Fuck, where did they all come from?' Naruto curses as he realizes that they're surrounded. _

"_Naruto what are we going to do?" Sophia cries out in panic, but Naruto doesn't answer her, as he is trying to find one himself. He turns back before the group to his left can catch them and forces their way past the group that's trying to get over the fence. He opens the back door to the house, kicks back the walkers that fall out, and immediately closes the door behind him. Naruto wastes no time in killing the walkers before they can get back up this time. Not wanting to be in the same room as the downed walkers, he takes Sophia upstairs and into the nearest room he can find and locks the door. It's a small bedroom that hasn't been kept clean for a long time but it was void of any sort of gore. Naruto sat Sophia down on the bed in the corner of the room with an adjacent window that looked on into the front yard. "I'm scared Naruto!"_

"_I know, just give me a second to think." Naruto responds but is undermined by the pound at the door by the growling walkers. More pounding is heard from the front door getting a high pitched scream out of Sophia. He takes of his cloak and wraps it around Sophia in attempt to comfort her as best he can. "Here, this will protect you." It's only now that Naruto realizes that this massive hoard had probably been following them since they entered the town, and they didn't notice them because they were slow to emerge from the houses and yards. 'What now? How do I get out of this one? I don't have an answer this time. I'm too tired, my chakra hasn't been recovering they way it's supposed to.' Naruto shuts his eyes as he thinks, as an effort to block out the imminent danger._

_He relaxes his breathing, getting his heart rate under control. Meditation is the only thing Naruto can do to come up with an answer, but it is to no avail. He realizes that his strength alone will not be enough to save him or Sophia. 'Oh wait, that's right.' Naruto thought to himself, 'I'm not alone… I'm never alone.' Naruto brings himself into his mindscape, arriving in front of a massive pair of gates. Behind it, an even more impressive crimson fox sleeps._

"_Oi, Kurama, it's been a while huh?" Naruto is answered only by the slow and steady breathing of the sleeping giant. Naruto enters the gate and walks up the nine-tailed beast, whose head rests on top of its paws, eyes shut. He reaches out his hand and places it on the side of its head. "I know you're exhausted too, but I need to borrow some of your power now. Don't worry, I only need a little bit, you won't even notice." Not wanting to disturb the sleeping beast, Naruto begins to draw a miniscule amount of chakra, but feels a rumbling underneath his hands._

"_**Be careful, Naruto. I have nothing… against you… anymore. But my chakra… is always …filled with hatred. Do not… let it… overcome you." **__Naruto feels a pang of guilt for waking up his friend, but realizes that Kurama went back to sleep just as easily as he had woken up. His message is what disturbs Naruto though. In his weakened state, any amount of chakra he draws from Kurama would flood his own chakra network. If that's the case, he can only guess at how much control he'll have over it._

_Kurama's chakra begins to enter Naruto and immediately he feels the affects; his body becomes hard as his muscles gain mass, his canine teeth grow half an inch in length, his pupils dilate into slits, his nails grow longer and sharper and his entire demeanor become feral. His fatigue is washed away as he is filled with a bountiful reservoir of animalistic energy that radiated off of him and a red cloud of miasma. It has been so long since Naruto has felt this kind of energy, and it felt amazing. However, since his own network was nearly dried of any of his own chakra, he could feel it begin to affect his consciousness as well. His thoughts were filled with only one thing; kill._

_All these changes are seen by Sophia and she slowly backs away from as she is slowly filled with fear. "Are you okay Naruto?" she whimpers out and is answered by a deep, throaty growl as Naruto snaps his eyes open. He gets up slowly as he rolls his shoulders and opens his mouth wide to crack his jaw. He looks over to Sophia who flinches back once she sees his red irises. He moves over to her slowly and places a hand on her head, getting a yelp out of Sophia. He knows he has to expend his new found energy quickly, before he takes it out on her by mistake._

"_**I'll be back."**__ Naruto says, and wastes no time jumping through the window, broken glass crashing on the walkers below, getting their full attention._

_He kills a walker upon landing on it in the center of the hoard. He wastes no time in lunging right claw directly into the skull of the nearest walker. The walkers that surround him all reach out their arms in an effort to grab and rip a piece of Naruto. But each time a walker reaches out, Naruto moves inward and thrusts two fingers like daggers in an uppercut motion, driving them into the skull of each aggressor. His movement is lightning fast as Naruto clears out a circular area of defense that he dominates and owns that cannot be penetrated; anything that tries is instantly crushed. An area that is arms length is suddenly void of walkers._

_Sophia hears the slashing and growling and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. A feeling of curiosity and concern overcomes her and she moves over to look out the window, being careful not to step on the broken glass. What she sees both amazes her and frightens her; an animalistic Naruto tearing walkers to pieces at a speed that her eyes can't follow. Naruto isn't just going for killing blows to the head but anything that enters into his range gets rip to pieces in seemingly calculated movements._

_Feeling that his prey is taking too long to enter into his slaughter, Naruto moves onto an offensive stance. He moves forward away from the house, throwing a right hook into the skull of a walker, obliterating its head to pieces, he follows up with a spinning elbow that cracks the skull of his next victim. He then grabs the head of the next walker throws a flying right knee into its face. While still in the air, Naruto quickly pivots his center of gravity to bring his left leg up and then drive it down as hard as he can through its head. A walker comes up behind him and tries to grab him in a grapple motion, but Naruto spins on his right heel to get behind this walker and thrusts his fingers into the base of its spine on the back of its neck. In a quick jerking motion he rips out the walker's spinal cord and the walker falls to the ground unable to move._

_Naruto moves on through the herd of walkers in a flash, killing one after another before any of them can get a lock on him. Nearly seventy walkers killed in just under a minute, Naruto stands panting hunched over with his arms dangling beneath him. Taking just a second to catch his breath, Naruto hears the back door being broken into and a scream from Sophia. Naruto had only taken a miniscule amount of chakra from Kurama to boost his physical abilities, and is nearly out of chakra already. With a huff Naruto jumps off his feet and rushes back into the house._

_He notices that roughly half a dozen walkers have already made it up stairs and are pounding at Sophia's door while nearly two dozen more crowd the living room and kitchen. Naruto kills the first walker that tries to grab him with a right claw to the face and quickly jumps up onto the second floor, landing on the banister. Running out of energy he needs to finish up here quickly. Right, left, right, left, right, left. Each walker drops dead and the rest of the walkers are climbing the staircase. Naruto throws one of the dead walkers down the stair case which knocks down the ones behind it. Given how awkward they are it buys Naruto plenty of time._

_Naruto kicks down the door to Sophia's room which results in her screaming out of fear. Her eyes widen in terror and shock from the sight of Naruto covered in rotten flesh and blood from head to toe. Sophia's immediate reaction is to curl up into a ball in the corner of the room. __**"We don't have time, there are more down stairs and I'm out of energy. We need to leave, now!"**__ Naruto moves over to scoop her in her arms but his appearance makes her hesitant. Naruto expected this but knows she has no reason to worry; Kurama's chakra is fading along with its influences, both good and bad. He is confident he won't lose control around her, but that'll be the least of their worries if they don't get out of here and as far away as possible now. _

_Scooping Sophia up in his arms despite her hesitation, Naruto leaps out of the window and safely lands on the street. Not looking back he pumps the remaining energy into his legs and runs as fast as his legs can take them. They clear the town within seconds and make into the woods, where Naruto finally runs out of chakra as he comes to a slow halt. Sophia can't even begin to comprehend what just happened and doesn't ask any questions. _

_They continue to walk for about an hour and don't come across a single walker. They walked in complete silence, Sophia too afraid to ask any questions and Naruto too tired to answer. Knowing that they won't find a secure place to regain their strength, Naruto picks Sophia up in his arms and jumps up into a tree with branches to support both their weights. He tells Sophia that he's going to take a nap for a little while and to wake him up in about an hour. "We'll look for a safer place then, and I'll explain everything then. In the meantime, you can have the peanut-butter in my cloak." Naruto leans back against the bark of the tree and shuts his eyes, quickly falling asleep. It's only the middle of the day but his exhaustion gets to him. Sophia has no need to sleep and couldn't if she wanted to. She's effectively stranded in the tree until Naruto wakes up. She has no idea what to think of him anymore. Naruto is still covered in filth from his battle. That's the only thing she can take away from all this. That Naruto became something stronger than a hoard of walkers. All for the sake of protecting her._

* * *

"Holy Shit." Upon hearing the profanity, the group turns around drawing their weapons without missing a beat. To their shock, they find the source of the interruption to be an inmate, a survivor of the prison, along with four other inmates, hiding behind a counter with a protective wire mesh.

"Who the hell are you?" Demands the inmate of Hispanic descent with long black hair.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl answers back with his cross bow pointed directly at the inmates head. "Come on out of there nice and slow." The inmates do just that, with the Hispanic inmate out in front. All of them are dressed in the jumpsuit typical of the prison attire and are covered in dirt and grime. Daryl, along with the rest of his group notice that this particular inmate is the only one with a gun that was tucked in jumpsuit, while the others carry sticks and bats. Naruto holds his kunai by the blade, tucking it into his sleeve with his wrist, ready to throw it in the blink of an eye if needed.

"Ya'll don't look like no rescue team."

"If you're waiting on one don't bother, there isn't any." Rick replies, but then notices something as he looks over by where the inmates were hiding. "Looks like we found the pantry." This declaration puts the inmates on edge, if they weren't already.

"We'll come back for it later; right now our priority is finding Glenn and Maggie. T-Dog, open the doors." T-Dog nods his head in confirmation, but before he gets a chance to comply, the inmate takes out his gun and points it his head.

"Don't open those doors!"

"Don't worry about it, we got this." Naruto says, drawing the inmate's attention back to him, along with the barrel of his revolver. The second Naruto is in the cross hairs of the gun, he flicks his kunai with a movement that is too quick to be perceived by anyone else, and it lands directly in the barrel of the revolver. The inmate feels the weight in his hands shift and he looks down to see the cause of it.

"What the fuck?!" The inmate curses, dropping his weapon in surprise. Naruto finds a satisfied smirk coming to his face as the rest of the group try to figure out what just happened.

"Yeah I wouldn't try using that, you'd only hurt yourself." Naruto says dismissively, as the others finally see what he was talking about. Rick and Daryl can't believe what Naruto managed to do. Feats of strength were one thing but this level of skill was something completely unheard of, and by no means achievable by a simple rush of adrenaline.

"How the hell did he do that?" Says the shortest of the inmates. Naruto doesn't bother explaining to them at the moment, the mission is still active.

"T-Dog, open one of the doors and take out the first walker, then fall back. Ready up guys." Before the inmates can interrupt again, T-Dog removes his weapon from the handles and opens the door on his left. The second the first walker comes into view he drives his perpendicular to his body directly into the skull of the walker. Not wasting anytime he immediately removes his pike and rushes back to the group.

The walkers file into the room one after another. Naruto throws two shuriken and two kunai, hitting four walkers dead between the eyes. Daryl shoots a single arrow at another walker and then takes out his hunting knife, not bothering to take the time to reload. Rick and T-Dog then follow up taking out the next walkers and fall back, Naruto and Daryl taking out the next two hand to hand. This pattern confuses the walkers as they are unable to focus on a single target which has them running into each other, making them easy to pick off.

What felt like forever for those in the room was no longer than two minutes in real time, from the moment the group broke into the room, to the moment they took down the last walker in the hoard. Over two dozen walkers down and reduced to nothing more than cannon fodder. Once they are cleared Naruto wastes no time in leading his group out of the room. "Let's move, we need to make sure the others are safe." He doesn't spare a glance at the prisoners and doesn't wait for confirmation from the group, Naruto simply runs out the room and the others are forced to follow. The inmates look at each other and silently agree to follow them slowly.

Navigating the hallways is far easier this time around as most of the walkers have already been cleared. Most intersections seem to have gates that can be locked and Naruto chastises himself as he realizes that he could have used them to his advantage earlier. He makes a mental note to definitively determine whether this portion of the prison is completely clear and uncompromised. In the mean time he leads his group following the signs for the way back that Glenn and Maggie had made before they got separated. While Naruto leads them back to the cell block, Rick and Daryl keep an eye out for the inmates that are following them at a respectful distance. Rick is unsure of how he will deal with them, but he realizes that it may not be up to him alone to decide.

* * *

This one kinda got away from me, it's unfinished from what I originally wanted to be at but since it's been a while i'll leave it from here.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: A much better response than I thought considering I didn't really advance the story, that last chapter was really hard to write though. I actually had ten reviews for that last chapter alone and I average about nine reviews a chapter which is cool, so for that reason alone I'm updating much sooner. I consider stories to be popular if they average at least ten a reviews a chapter. Special thanks to buddhabro2 for the very interested reviews as always, if I had more reviews like that I'd be updating more consistently just because they get my gears turning. Would anyone like to be my Beta Reader? I've never used one before and I'm tired of getting stupid things mixed up. Just out of curiosity, how do most of you guys read on fan fiction? On your phone, tablet or laptops?

* * *

A silence fills the room as Sophia finishes telling her story, the adults in the room not sure what to make of it given that it boarder lines the supernatural. Carl and Beth are simply in awe of how Naruto was capable doing such a thing. Glenn and Maggie question silently question the credibility of the story while the rest wonder if Naruto could be mentally unstable and therefore a potential threat to the group dynamic. Sophia has no reason make up such a tale, especially one with that level of detail, so more than likely the event in question most likely occurred. With that being the case, how exactly did Naruto manage to get them both out of that situation alive? Before anyone has a chance to inquire further, footsteps are heard echoing through the hallway.

The gate opens with Naruto first to walk through it, followed closely by the rest of his party. His eyes immediately find Maggie and Glenn and the relief that washes over him is enough to distract him from noticing the dark and heavy atmosphere felt by the occupants of the room. Coming to a halt, a smile makes its way to his face, "I'm glad you guys made it back alright, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you, especially after making that promise to Hershel." Naruto's radiant positive energy is almost enough to snap the two in question out of their uncertain thoughts, but it is short lived.

"Lori, take Carl into the cell block. Carol and Hershel you two should do the same for Sophia and Beth. We've got some company coming in."

"What company?" Beth questions with worry evident in her voice.

"Survivors of the prison; inmates." Daryl answers not looking back to Beth, keeping his attention fixated on the entrance, aiming down the sights of his crossbow.

"Are they dangerous?" Hershel asks Rick as he closes the gate to the cell block and locks it, leaving the group that went on the latest mission outside.

"We don't know just yet." Rick answers and at this, Naruto steps over to Rick, standing nearly adjacent to him facing the opposite way, and placing his right hand on Rick's right shoulder, whispers something to him so that only he can hear. Rick's expression doesn't noticeably change, but his mind set does, leaving no room for any hesitation. Naruto walks back closer to the gate that leads to the cell block as if to stand guard, deciding to leave the talking to Rick for now. It's his group after all. Being the muscle is Naruto's favorite role anyhow. He takes a look over his shoulder and notices the kids peaking out of the cells to try and get a glimpse of the situation, but Naruto gives them a thumbs up, his signature grin, and shoos them back into their cells.

"That's far enough." Daryl says as the prisoners file into the room slowly. Naruto refocuses his attention back to the company in the room, folding his arms over his chest.

"Cell block C, cell number four that's my cell. Let me in Gringo." Tomas, the Hispanic and apparent leader of the prisoners says facing Daryl. The inmates take a quick look and easily see that they are outnumbered by a group that has evidently forced their way into the prison. Not only that but they are out gunned. They don't dare to advance any further than they already have, but Tomas doesn't lose his confrontational demeanor.

"It's your lucky day fella's, you've been pardoned by the state of Georgia, and you're free to go." Daryl answers, ignoring Tomas's claims.

"What you got going on in there?"

"That's none of your concern." Daryl's dismissive reply agitates Tomas.

"Don't tell me what's none of my concern." Tomas says challengingly, taking a step advancing towards Daryl. This naturally raises the tension in the room even higher, along with Daryl's crossbow and the weapons of the others in the group.

"Forget about it Tomas. Who cares about the cells we're free now." The largest inmate, Big Tiny, butts in. The other inmates agree, only caring about getting out and seeing the outside world along with friends and relatives. But Tomas presses the issue further.

"A group of civilians forcing their way into a prison they have no business being in. makes me think there is anywhere else _to_ go."

"Why don't you go find out?" answers Daryl uncaringly.

"Maybe we'll just be going then." The only Caucasian of the prison group, Axel, says deciding to try and diffuse the situation before it gets out of hand.

"We're not going anywhere." Tomas rejects uncompromisingly.

"Well you're not coming in either." T-Dog says defiantly.

"Hey It's my house and my rules I'll go where I damn well please!" Tomas exclaims but without his weapon, his words are pretty hollow. His arrogance and sense of entitlement are the only things that affect his reasoning.

"We'll there ain't nothing for you here so why don't you go back to where ever the hell you come from?!" Daryl forces back. Before the arguing can escalate any further Rick finally decides to weigh in.

"Hey hey enough already, there's no need for any of this alright."

"How many of you are in there anyway?" Tomas question, and is answered with a hard, uncompromising look from Rick.

"Too many for you to handle that's for sure." The entire group spreads out in a display solidarity and strength to emphasize Rick's point. With their weapons in hand and readiness to use them, there is no more room for arguing this point. They are not leaving this cell block and their not sharing it with them either. Seeing that he can't win this he drops it for now.

"You guys rob a bank or something? What are you doing in here anyway?" Tomas questions, which prompts Rick and Daryl to share a look. It didn't occur to them until just now that the inmates didn't know what has been going on in the world for the past ten months. Rick answers slowly,

"How long have you guys been locked up in that pantry?" Noticing the change in the air, Tomas feels a chill go down his spine for a reason he doesn't understand.

"About ten months now."

"A fire broke out; all hell broke loose with it."

"We heard all kinds of crazy things; people going cannibal, people dying and coming back to life."

"One of the guards looked out for use and secured us in that kitchen. He told us to sit tight and he'd be right back. He also threw me his spare hand gun, which Blondie over there destroyed." Tomas explained bitterly, sending a glare Naruto's way. Naruto fidgeted slightly averting his gaze and holding his hands up.

"My bad man." Naruto says, more amused by the memory than feeling guilty which gets a light chuckle out of Daryl Rick and T-Dog, much to the frustration of Tomas. "It was pretty good shot though you got to admit." Naruto snickers and Maggie and Glenn look to each other in confusion not knowing what they were talking about.

"Anyway, that was two hundred and ninety two days ago." Says Oscar pitching in.

"Two hundred and ninety four by my count." Axel says trying to correct Oscar, but is cut off by Tomas.

"Shut up!"

"We've been thinking that the army or the National Guard was gonna show up any day now." Oscar continues ignoring Tomas's outburst.

"There is no army." Rick says definitely. The inmates pause and focus their attention on Rick at hearing his declaration. "There are no hospitals, no police, and no schools. Nothing." Stunned into silence the inmates struggle to digest this new information. All kinds of emotion wash through their faces at once but the only thing that sticks is a feeling of lost.

"What about my kids? My mom? My old lady? You guys have like a cell phone I could use? I need to find out what happened to them." Oscar begs in desperation with the overwhelming need to verify that what has been revealed is in fact the truth, the reality of things.

"You don't get do you?" Daryl scoffs, not feeling the least bit of sympathy. Rick hangs his head as he speaks all these things. Remembering what has been lost forever is weight he can feel, as unwelcomed as it is. Naruto on the other wonders if this is what he looked like when he first heard about it from Sophia.

"There are no phones, no internet or anything."

'_What's internet?'_ Naruto wondered, shook the thought out of his head and decided to ask Sophia about it later.

"As far as we can see half the population has been wiped out. Probably more." Rick continues. Half the inmate's experiences a disgusting amount of dread consume them. Tomas and Andrew on the other hand refuse to believe it.

"There's no way." Tomas shakes his head in defiance.

"See for yourself then." Rick answers back, not caring for the tone that carried in Tomas's voice. From there Daryl motions for the prisoners to head for the exit that lead to the outside and they do so. He follows them out along with T-Dog and Rick. Glenn and Maggie where about to follow them out as well but before they could, they both felt a hand on their shoulders.

"You two have been through a lot today. Why don't you stay inside with the rest of the group and rest for a little while? Maybe let them know what's going on." Naruto suggests whiling offering a warm smile. They two of them had nearly forgotten Sophia's story during all the commotion and they find so hard to believe that someone as kind hearted and easy going as Naruto would be capable of the carnage that was described by Sophia. Not knowing what to make of it, they decide to accept Naruto's offer and question him on that incident at a later time.

"That sounds like a good idea. Come on Maggie, let's go inside. I'm tired as hell." Naruto steps aside as Glenn wraps and arm around Maggie's waist. She leans her head on Glenn's shoulder and lets him lead her back inside. As the do so Naruto goes to follow the rest of the group outside, wanting to get a little fresh air himself, and to make sure the inmates didn't try anything right then and there.

* * *

The inmates fan out a little just to stretch their legs. They haven't seen anything but the walls of the room they had been trapped in and were more than glad to see the very fences that had kept them within the confines of the prison yard. Feeling the sun against their skin was a welcomed feeling in spite of the intense heat. While they enjoy the fresh air they still take notice of the monsters that up until now have mostly only heard about, and have only witnessed for themselves. Currently being kept at bay by the fences of the inner courtyard, they push them to the back of their minds for the time being.

"By the way, how did you guys make it in here anyhow?" asks Andrew, turning to Daryl and his group.

"Actually this guy let us in." Daryl responds pointing behind him over to Naruto. Hearing this, the rest of the inmates turn their attention over the blonde who was examining the perimeter of the inner courtyard. "His name's Naruto, and now that I think about I don't think any of us know how he got in." At the mention of his name Naruto turns around and finds that the rest of the group is staring at him.

"What?"

"How'd you get in here?" Tomas asks challengingly. Naruto can't help but roll his eyes at the tone in his voice. He would have responded sarcastically but he never did tell Rick's group how he got past the fences. Not caring whether or not they believed him he answers,

"I jumped over the fence." Rick's group isn't sure if he's joking or not but Tomas and Andrew take his answer as a form of mockery.

"You _jumped_ over that twelve foot fence and the barbed wire?" Andrew asks unbelievingly, to which Naruto only grins and turns around to go back to inspecting the fences.

"Yeah, I've got mad hops. I didn't want to cut open the fence to get in, even if I did have something to tie it up with. It's better that there aren't any compromises or weak points. This place can be a fortress, though there's a long way to go before it's perfected." Hearing that the man who managed to break into their prison also had more long term plans to stay here but Tomas on edge. By no means did he care for sharing what he now understands to be the only secure place anyone could find in all of Georgia.

Examining one of the infected bodies on the ground, prodding it with a stick, Big Tiny asks out loud, "So what is this, a disease?" To this Rick replies somberly,

"Yea and we're all infected." Hearing this, the inmates turn their attention back over to Rick, a sense of fear and dread beginning to resurface.

"What do you mean infected? Like AIDS or something?" Axel asks stupidly.

"If I were to kill you by putting an arrow in your chest, you'd come back as one of these things. It's going to happen to all of us." Naruto paused his inspection upon hearing Daryl's testimony. Naruto knew that getting bit or scratched by one of these things would transmit the disease that would ultimately turn you into one of them. This initially led him to believe that the disease was virus like in nature. But to hear that it was already inside everyone made him question that. Sophia hadn't mentioned that to him when they first met, which probably means that she wasn't aware. If so then how did Daryl and his group found out about it?

'_If everyone already has it inside them, could it be a genetic mutation? If that's the case that would imply that everyone here would have a common ancestor, and after thousands and thousands of years the mutation occurred. Either that or whatever the cause of this thing is was simply dormant this whole time. If that were the case, what happened recently that triggered such a violent outbreak?'_

"There's no way the Robin Hood cats took out all these freaks, there must be fifty bodies out here." Tomas states not believing that a group of civilians could get past the defenses of the prison along with the monsters that were guarding it.

"_We_ didn't, he did. He took out all the walkers in the yard by himself. Our group helped him clear out the inside as thanks for letting us in." Rick explains, almost forgetting how implausible it sounds. He still wouldn't believe it if it weren't for the fact that he witnessed it with his own eyes.

"You expect us to believe that load of crap?" Andrew disputes, "One person jumped over the fence without getting torn up by the barbed wire, and then wiped out an army of those things by himself? I call bullshit." Naruto could only laugh. Sure it wouldn't sound believable to the people of this world but that's why it's so amusing to him. Tomas and Andrew didn't see what was so funny to him.

"Fine, don't believe it. It doesn't change the fact that it happened." Tomas narrows his eyes and slowly steps over to Naruto.

"Where did you come from anyway?" Despite the hostility in his voice, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog were still interested to hear the answer. They have only recently become acquainted with Naruto and know little about him. Naruto looks over to Rick's group, putting his hands in his pockets. This wasn't a conversation he was going to have with someone he just met, especially one with a bad attitude like Tomas.

"I'm not from around here to tell you the truth. But for the time being I'll be sticking around indefinitely." Naruto has an almost bored expression. For the most part Naruto has seemed rather unassuming, which he prefers for the mean time. He doesn't need any potential enemies thinking much of him, but even still, it's annoying when people don't understand the order of the food chain.

Looking back over to Rick Tomas poses the same question to his group, "How about you then? Not from around here?"

"Atlanta. It was completely overrun, literally millions of walkers roaming the streets." Naruto winced slightly upon hearing this. The only time he had ever heard of that many people congregating was during the war, but even still that was only a fraction of what Rick was talking about. He puts it in the back of his mind for the time being, but if he wants to make this place secure, he'll need to come up with a way to systematically destroy armies of walkers all at once.

"So what, you two meet one day and decide to be best friends forever? Is that it?"

Naruto and Rick share a look and they can't help but smirk at how unusually fast they became allies. "Yea basically, a little more complicated than that but yea that's just about it. Why make enemies out of decent people right?"Tomas nods his head and points over past Naruto's left shoulder, "I guess you guys can take that area over there by the water. You should be comfortable."

"I believe my new friends were planning on using that area for farming."

"We'll help you move your gear out." Tomas replies not missing a beat, and Naruto rolls his eyes at the mere notion that Tomas has any control over the situation whatsoever.

"That won't be necessary. We took out these walkers, this prison is ours." Rick replies sternly, looking Tomas in the eyes.

"Slow down cowboy."

"You snatched the locks off our doors!"

"We can give you new locks if that's how you want it."

"This is our prison. We were here first!" Naruto laughs outright hearing this, which earns him a glare from Tomas and Andrew.

"You guys were locked in a broom closet. We took it and set you free, it's ours! We spilled blood!" Rick says powerfully.

"I still have personal artifacts that's as mine as it gets!" Tomas closes the distance to get in Rick's face and they're nearly butting heads literally. Before things get any further out of hand, Naruto decides to step in between the two.

"Alright that's enough. It's a big prison alright. We can both share it without ever having to cross paths right? So why don't we try to figure something out that'll work for the both of us alright?" Naruto forces the two apart with his arms. Tomas is a little unnerved by easily Naruto was able to move him and so is Rick, feeling the weight of Naruto's strength for the first time, though Rick and Tomas didn't break eye contact for a second.

"I don't see that happening."

"Neither do I, Naruto." Rick doesn't like the idea of sharing the same his pregnant wife will be occupying with a bunch of convicted felons, and he knows the rest of the group won't like it either. Rick looks over to Naruto who, for once since meeting the prisoners, isn't wearing his signature grin, and is instead looking right back at him straight in the eye. Naruto nods his head forward just slightly, barely noticeable, but it's enough to get the message across. Rick is instantly reminded of what Naruto whispered to him earlier. With that in mind, Rick decides to let Naruto continue.

"You guys had a lot of food in that pantry didn't you?" Naruto says looking back to Tomas, who snaps his attention over to the blonde. Frowning he responds,

"Yea, what of it?" ignoring the reluctance in his voice Naruto continues to explain.

"I'll get some real weapons for your group, and help you clear out a cell block, if you give us half the food you have in that pantry." Tomas looks over to the rest of his group. He figures if these three 'pussies' were able to clear out the entire yard and a cell block, they should be able to clear out a few cells for themselves. Rick on the other hand doesn't see why Naruto would volunteer for a bunch of low life criminals whose leader has clearly displayed aggressive hostility. He looks over to Daryl who shakes his head not like the idea one bit.

"If you guys don't like it, you'll have to try your luck on the road; those are your only options." Daryl chimes in issuing the ultimatum. Hearing this is enough to make up their Tomas's mind.

"Fine, we'll give you half, and you clear out a cell block." Tomas confirms as he moves past Rick to head back into the prison. Before he can pass Naruto, however, Naruto grabs Tomas's arm by his elbow. In a hush so that only the two can hear and with a dark edge in his voice, Naruto threatens forcefully,

"I may be a nice guy, but if I so much as catch your scent out here, anywhere near these people… you'll be begging me to kill you." Tomas can't bring himself to look back to Naruto, the venom in his voice nearly paralyzing him. He's heard a lot of threats made to him in his life time, but there is finality in Naruto's voice. It was a promise, and Tomas knew it.

* * *

Both groups went back to the pantry, walking in silence for the most part. Rick's group along with Naruto independently evaluated the inmates, evaluating the potential threat. Rick and Daryl questioned Naruto quietly on his motive and reasoning for even offering to clear out a cell for them. Together they could have easily forced them out and kept most of the food for themselves, giving them a fraction to take with them out on the road. Naruto explained that he would take full responsibility for whatever happened. No matter how the world has changed around them, if the opportunity to be civil is present one should seize it. Even still, Naruto was always ready to deal with whatever this world throws him, which he proved when disarming Tomas earlier. Naruto's reasoning alone wasn't quite enough to convince Daryl and Rick, though T-Dog slightly optimistic, but given that none of the inmates have a gun on them, they would be of little threat, and were willing to let Naruto play it out.

After collecting the food, much to the annoyance of Tomas and Andrew exactly half, they brought back a respectful load of canned and bagged food that wouldn't spoil anytime soon, enough to last the group a few months. During this time Lori pulled Rick aside to ask how they'd be dealing with the inmates. She understood that her relationship with her husband was strained but approaching him concerning the safety of their group was still something she felt she had the right to inquire about. That being said she felt no hesitation in expressing her doubt when Rick explained that Naruto was the one who decided to allow the inmates to stay. While everyone here was grateful for everything that he had done for them, he really shouldn't have that kind of authority. Rick agreed but explained that he wasn't so sure that he could stop him even if he tried. Naruto had insisted that by no means did he expect Rick or anyone from his group to help him, but when T-Dog volunteered to help him, Rick couldn't help but join to make sure his friend would be safe. Daryl being Rick's right hand man agreed to help as well. With that being said, Lori mentioned to Rick that she needed to talk about Naruto more extensively, and as a group. Rick didn't know why Lori was so on edge when she mentioned it, but he agreed non-the-less.

* * *

Regrouping with the inmates with a small collection of weapons for the mission, Naruto heads the discussion for the operation. But after seeing the collection of weapons, which doesn't include any firearms, Tomas expresses his irritation. "If you hadn't broken my piece we wouldn't need these."

"I did you a favor, using those things only attracts more of them than you have bullets. You only use them when your backs against the wall, and save a bullet for yourself." Daryl explains. Tomas gives him a cross look but lets it go, seeing his point.

"Ahem, with that out of the way let's go over our attack plan yea? I'll take point with Tomas, Rick you take the rear with Andrew." At the mentioning of this pair Naruto gave Rick a knowing look who nodded his head in understanding. "Daryl you have the right flank with Oscar. Axel and Big Tiny take the left and T-Dog you support any one that needs the help." With a look around the room Naruto makes sure they're all on the same page, and they confirm. "Alright now no one breaks rank, you could compromise the entire group or get mistaken for a walker and will be cut down just the same."

"Aim for the head, It's the only way to kill these things."

"Che, you don't need to tell us how to kill a man." Naruto and Rick don't bother looking at each other at hearing the boast, they know full well by now.

"They ain't men, they're something else entirely." T-Dog reminds the inmates. "Just aim for the head and don't bother with anything else." With that being said Naruto walks out and Tomas follows, everyone else right behind them.

As they walk deeper into the dark and barely lit prison, the anxiety sky rockets as the heart beats of the prisoner pound hard in their chests. Before they can see them they hear a few walkers that are just around the corner of the hallway. Axel out of fear alerts everyone one of its presence but in doing so gives away their position. In a mad rush the prisoners charge the first walker they see. They pin it down and stab everywhere… except for the head. Naruto smacks his head in frustration. "What did we just get through talking about?" Daryl wastes no time in shooting an arrow through its head and ending the pathetic display of prison riot bullshit. "Two rules; aim for the head and don't break rank. Let's go, there are more of them." Naruto looks past Tomas as he moves past him. Tomas gives Andrew a look before catching up with Naruto. Rick doesn't bother looking at Andrew when he moves in step with him.

The group makes their way to a choking point where they only have two fronts to defend from. Naruto and Tomas take the right while tiny and T-Dog take the left. The others stay behind to support. As a hoard of walkers comes in on the right Naruto and Tomas take them out one at a time and pull back, Daryl and Oscar covering them. The walkers nearly overwhelm them from the right flank but of course Naruto doesn't let that happen, putting his shuriken to use with enough power to cut through several at once. This goes largely unnoticed by the group, even by Tomas, given how dark it is. All Big Tiny can see being all the way in the back are the monsters that don't seem to end. The sounds of the growling and moaning place a forceful grip of fear on him and he slowly slips away. This isn't seen by anyone in the dark and no one does anything to stop him.

Before Big Tiny can turn the corner, a walker creeps up behind him and gets a bite on his arm. "Fuck!" he cries out as he pushes the thing away and brings his axe down on his head. His cry gets the attention of the group just as they finish their end, and they come over to help. A much smaller wave of walkers turning the corner is dealt with swiftly, mostly by T-Dog and Andrew. Big Tiny does what he can to keep his cool but he can't stop his hands from shaking. Naruto comes over to examine to wound, which is on Big Tiny's forearm.

"We can amputate it, which should keep you from turning into one of them." Naruto explains calmly, but it does nothing to settle Tiny's nerves. Shaking his head in denial he cries,

"I'm fine, I don't feel any different, I just stop the bleeding. I'm not turning into-," But his words die there, as he is hacked to death by Tomas with his tomahawk. Even after Tiny's body falls to the ground Tomas continues to drive his axe into his head until he runs out of breath. Covered in the blood of his former cell mate Tomas finally stops and notices the rest of the group staring at him. Naruto could hardly believe it but he didn't show it. Andrew almost didn't care but Oscar and Axel suddenly remember why Tomas was their leader before they were locked in that pantry. Out of all of them, Tomas was the only one that was convicted of murder, and it constantly showed. Rick signals to Daryl that if Tomas were to so much as makes a single move towards them, they'd cut him down.

"You said aim for the head right?" Tomas says in amusement. Not bothering to talk about what just happened he moves on leaving the rest of the group behind, only Andrew follows immediately. Not wanting to wait for another hoard of walker to find them, the rest finally decide to move on. They walk down a few hallways and arrive at a laundry room. They file in and close the door behind them. They can hear growling from a second set of doors. There's a lot more room and they have a single front to defend this time, so the group fans out. Naruto stands next to Tomas and doesn't bother looking at him. T-Dog stands to Naruto's left along with Oscar. Axel stays off to the back. Andrew stands right next to Rick with Daryl to his right.

"Only open up one of the doors to funnel them in." Naruto says with an even tone. Tomas walks over to the double doors and grabs hold of the handles. He looks over his should to the group to see if they're ready, but makes eye contact with Andrew and nods his head. Tomas turns around and opens both doors and quickly regroups with the rest, effectively pissing off Naruto, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog. "I said only one door!"

"Shit happens!" There's no time for a shouting match as the walkers pour into the room. It's a mad rush as everyone moves as quickly as they can to kill as many walkers as fast of possible. Tomas hacks away while Naruto deflects and places calculated stabs to the head of each walker. Daryl shoots an arrow into one walker and then takes out his hunting knife. Rick cuts them down with his machete. T-Dog forces them down with his riot shield and drives his pike into the following walker. Oscar does what he can while axel cowers behind everyone, only getting involved when necessary, and finally Andrew swings away with his bat. In the midst of the battle Tomas deflects a walker directly onto Naruto, who reacts by grabbing its arms and cracking its skull with a head butt empowered by his forehead protector. This doesn't go unnoticed by Rick and Daryl but Naruto doesn't falter for a second. Tomas takes another swing at a walker to his left but comes dangerously close to cutting Naruto, who would have caught the worst of it if he didn't move to his left.

The hoard of walkers is finally cleared, and the group takes a breath for only a second. Daryl eyes Tomas, resetting his cross bow and has it at the ready. Rick rests his hand on his revolver looking over to Andrew, who swallows hard in expectation. Naruto on the other hand, doesn't bother to look over to Tomas, keeping his eyes forward. "Nearly got me there. Shit happens, right?" Naruto says slowly, his voice completely even. Tomas grips his tomahawk tightly, looking at the side of Naruto's head.

"Yea…shit happens." Suddenly Tomas swings his arm and swipes downward at Naruto as fast as he can with his axe. Naruto merely glances over to his right and it appears to him in near slow motion. He simply moves slightly forward and Tomas misses. Not giving him a second chance, Naruto steps in and drives his left kunai directly into Tomas's right temple.

"No!" Andrew cries out as he's push forward by Rick. Oscar and Axel step back as T-Dog and Daryl turn around and keep them in their cross hairs. Frantic Andrew tries to run out of the room as fast as he can, but before he can make it out the door Naruto pulls out his kunai from Tomas's skull by the loop and flings it at Andrew where it lands directly into the base of his spinal cord. Andrew's body drops to the ground instantly. He walks over to pull his blade out of Tomas. Naruto turns around slowly with dark look in his eyes and moves over to the other two inmates until he's standing over them. Oscar and Axel are forced to the ground by Rick and Daryl.

"Now then… what do we do… with you two, hmm?"

* * *

Longest chapter ever! If anyone is interested in being a beta-reader for me that would be great, let me know please.


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